M/S. Govind Mills Ltd., Shri C.P. Vs. Cce, Allahabad - Court Judgment

Excerpt:
1. for hearing their appeal, m/s govind mills ltd. are required to pre-deposit the duty amount of rs 42,38,392/- and shri c.p. agarwal, managing director, is required to pre-deposit the penalty amount of rs 10 lakh and shri deepak gupta, partner of m/s steadfast engineers,faridabad, is required to pre-deposit rs 10 lakh imposed by way or penalty.2. shri amit awasthi, advocate, submits that m/s govind mills ltd. had already deposited a sum of rs 20 lakh vide tr-6 challan no. 1 dated 17.8.1988 and invites attention to serial no. 5 of the order portion of the order-in-original at page 55 of the paper book.3. as a sum of rs 20 lakh has already been deposited by m/s govind mills ltd., we waive the requirement of pre-deposit of the balance duty amount and full penalty amount in their case.4. as regards shri c.p. agarwal, managing director, it was his submission that as the penalty has already been imposed on the appellants, for hearing the appeal a lenient view may be taken. after hearing shri mewa singh, sdr, and on going through the facts on record, we direct shri c.p. agarwal, managing director, to pre-deposit a sum of rs 2 lakh (rupees two lakh only) within a period of eight weeks from today. on pre-depositing the above sum of rs 2 lakh within the period of eight weeks from today, the pre-deposit of the balance penalty amount will be waived and recovery stayed till the disposal of the appeal.5. appearing for shri deepak gupta, shri k.k. anand, advocate, submitted that a penalty amount of rs 10 lakh has been imposed on shri deepak gupta who was a partner in the firm which had supplied the furnaces. it was his submission that the provisions of rule 209-a of the central excise rules, 1944 are not applicable in the case. he also pleads financial hardship.6. we find that the role of shri deepak gupta has been discussed in para 10 of the order which is extracted below- 10. i also find that sri deepak gupta partner of m/s steadfast engineers, faridabad has deliberately and fraudulently forged the documents in connivance with shri c.p.agrawal of m/s govind mills ltd., gorakhpur which led to fixation of lower monthly duty liability of m/s govind mills ltd., gorakhpur during sept.1997 to may 1998 under section 3a of central excise act, 1944 and thus i find he is also liable for penal action under rule 209a of central excise rules, 1944.7. however, keeping in view the submissions of the learned advocate, we direct shri deepak gupta to pre-deposit a sum of rs 50,000/- (rupees fifty thousand only) within eight weeks from today. on pre-depositing the above sum of rs 50,000/-, the pre-deposit of the balance penalty amount will be waived and recovery stayed till the disposal of the appeal. needless to say that if the terms of this order are not complied with within the stipulated period, then the appeals will become liable to be dismissed without further reference to the appellants.8. the matter to come up for noting the compliance and further orders on 24th july, 2001.

Judgment:
1. For hearing their appeal, M/s Govind Mills Ltd. are required to pre-deposit the duty amount of Rs 42,38,392/- and Shri C.P. Agarwal, Managing Director, is required to pre-deposit the penalty amount of Rs 10 lakh and Shri Deepak Gupta, Partner of M/s Steadfast Engineers,Faridabad, is required to pre-deposit Rs 10 lakh imposed by way or penalty.

2. Shri Amit Awasthi, advocate, submits that M/s Govind Mills Ltd. had already deposited a sum of Rs 20 lakh vide TR-6 Challan No. 1 dated 17.8.1988 and invites attention to serial no. 5 of the order portion of the order-in-original at page 55 of the paper book.

3. As a sum of Rs 20 lakh has already been deposited by M/s Govind Mills Ltd., we waive the requirement of pre-deposit of the balance duty amount and full penalty amount in their case.

4. As regards Shri C.P. Agarwal, Managing Director, it was his submission that as the penalty has already been imposed on the appellants, for hearing the appeal a lenient view may be taken. After hearing Shri Mewa Singh, SDR, and on going through the facts on record, we direct Shri C.P. Agarwal, Managing Director, to pre-deposit a sum of Rs 2 lakh (rupees two lakh only) within a period of eight weeks from today. On pre-depositing the above sum of Rs 2 lakh within the period of eight weeks from today, the pre-deposit of the balance penalty amount will be waived and recovery stayed till the disposal of the appeal.

5. Appearing for Shri Deepak Gupta, Shri K.K. Anand, advocate, submitted that a penalty amount of Rs 10 lakh has been imposed on Shri Deepak Gupta who was a partner in the firm which had supplied the furnaces. It was his submission that the provisions of Rule 209-A of the Central Excise Rules, 1944 are not applicable in the case. He also pleads financial hardship.

6. We find that the role of Shri Deepak Gupta has been discussed in para 10 of the order which is extracted below- 10. I also find that Sri Deepak Gupta partner of M/s Steadfast Engineers, Faridabad has deliberately and fraudulently forged the documents in connivance with Shri C.P.Agrawal of M/s Govind Mills Ltd., Gorakhpur which led to fixation of lower monthly duty liability of M/s Govind Mills Ltd., Gorakhpur during Sept.1997 to May 1998 under section 3A of Central Excise Act, 1944 and thus I find he is also liable for penal action under Rule 209A of Central Excise Rules, 1944.

7. However, keeping in view the submissions of the learned advocate, we direct Shri Deepak Gupta to pre-deposit a sum of Rs 50,000/- (rupees fifty thousand only) within eight weeks from today. On pre-depositing the above sum of Rs 50,000/-, the pre-deposit of the balance penalty amount will be waived and recovery stayed till the disposal of the appeal. Needless to say that if the terms of this order are not complied with within the stipulated period, then the appeals will become liable to be dismissed without further reference to the appellants.

8. The matter to come up for noting the compliance and further orders on 24th July, 2001.